An elevator is a hinged mechanism with two segments that may be closed around tubulars such as drillpipe, casing or other drillstring components to facilitate moving them into and out of the wellbore and about the rig. When the elevator segments are in the closed position, the elevator segments are latched together to form a load-bearing ring, which may be positioned around the component. A shoulder or taper on the component to be lifted is larger in size than the inside diameter of the closed elevator. In the open position, the elevator segments may be rotated about their hinged connection to swing away from the tubular.
A manual elevator requires a person to drive the segments about the hinge to open or close the elevator and may require a person to actuate a latch and possibly a lock between the segments.